Paw Patrol in Highschool
by caityrayeraye
Summary: Join Nova Larkin on an adventure as she tries to escape the dramas of home and highschool, but also as she and her best friends make a difference in their small town.
1. Characters

Characters:

Nova Larkin: Girlfriend of Zuma, science geek, father died in the Middle East after saving a family from a landmine, mother slowly became addicted to drugs and alcohol

Principal Goodway: owns an offbrand Gucci purse that she uses to carry her pet chicken around in

Vice Principal Humdinger: owns six kittens that the Paw Patrol are always suspicious of

Miss Katie: 4H, owns a kitty name Callie

Ryder: Leader of the Paw Patrol

the Turbots: science teachers, Captain Turbot's best friend is a walrus named Wally

Jake: PE teacher, Everest's cousin

Carlos: Tracker's brother who teaches an extra credit archaeology class

Mr. Porter: owns a restaurant/grocery store in town but always has time to make delicious meals for ABHS

Alex: Mr. Porter's grandson who's always hanging around

Farmer Yumi, Farmer Al: Ag teachers

Miss Marjorie: Librarian, has a pet raccoon named Maynard

Daring Danny X: the school daredevil

Zuma Atwater: Nova's boyfriend, expert lifeguard, swim team, surfing, windsurfing

Chase Baxter: Skye's boyfriend, police academy cadet

Skye Himmel: Pilot, Chase's girlfriend

Marshall Fierman: Boyfriend to Everest, biggest dream is to be a firefighter, super clumsy, tells bad puns and jokes

Rocky Rooney: pretty much a genius(nothing else to say), hates water

Rubble Thatcher: loves getting his hands dirty

Tracker Garcia: expert of the jungle

Everest Whittaker: Star of winter sports teams at ABHS, Marshall's girlfriend

Sweetie Callahan: exchange student from the UK, has a car named Busby

Becca Toulouse: Mean girl leader

Angelica Davenport: Minion #1


	2. One through four

Chapter One

"Nova!"

"Nova!"

"Nova Rosalie Larkin! Wake up!"

It was the first day of my last year of high school and I was dreading it.

One more year of bullies, hormones and other bleh stuff.

But hey, what can I say, I'm graduating this year, so that's a plus I guess.

My eyes snap open, revealing the cutest boy known to mankind staring back at me, yellowish green eyes boring into my soul.

Zuma.

"Hey there handsome, enjoying the view?"

He just laughs at my attempt to flirt. "You look like a kitten when you wake up."

Sticking my tongue out at him, I rub the sleep out of my eyes, rushing around the room quickly gathering things to get ready.

"Chill dude, we have time." Zuma's laidback California surfer dude personality helps me to calm down when I'm stressed, but at the same time, it stresses me out.

You get me?

"Says the one who rolls out of bed looking absolutely perfect."

He takes off his backwards snapback, revealing his untamable brunette beach waves before shoving the hat down again.

"Perfect? Ha, yeah wight." His cheeks burn red. "Right. I meant right.

Zuma has a slight speech impediment, but it was absolutely adorable the way his "r" changed to a "w." Sadly, he started getting teased so much about it that he learned to control it. It slips up once in a while.

"Hey, you don't have to hide it from me. I think it's charming."

"Chawming my butt." He ruffles my bed head and leaves a kiss there. "Meet you downstaiws."

He's too cute. And wow, his butt looks really good in those jeans.

"You do know I can hear ya!" He calls.

"Dang it."

I hear his chuckle. "Thanks fow the compliments though."

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

"I love you Nova!"

"Love you too." With that, I close my door to start getting ready.

"Wow," I say as I walk downstairs, "nice sweatshirt."

He looks down at his bright orange 'Zuma Beach, California' sweatshirt. The place where he finished his lifeguard training, and where I spent the summer with him and his family.

"So?"

"You're a dork."

"So?" He questions again.

"Can I steal it? Please?"

"I keep telling you the same thing. No."

"It was worth a shot." I pout.

I pour myself a bowl of cereal, plopping down at the kitchen table, mindlessly flipping through the pages of my favorite science magazine.

"Somethin' wrong?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm just a bit nervous."

Zuma squeezes my hand lightly. "I'll be wight next to you all year. Don't worry."

"Promise?"

"Pwomise."

I look around the room, noticing my "mother" hadn't come home from "spending time the the girls."

"Of course she forgot that she even had a daughter."

Zuma just bites his lip, sighing. He looked like he wanted to say something but decided to keep it in.

I shook it off. My mother was slowly becoming a taboo subject. After my father died, she became a recluse. I had to live through my last year of elementary school, middle school and now high school with an alcoholic/drug addicted mother. I'm surprised she hadn't overdosed or something yet.

Luckily, I had an amazing boyfriend and friends who offered to take me in when money was tight.

Another lucky thing, my dad left me some money in his will. Something my mother despised me for, since she wasn't even mentioned once.

I finish my cereal, then run upstairs to brush my teeth and grab my backpack.

"Ready to go?"

I nod, walking outside and locking the door behind me. "Let's get this over with."

Chapter Two

Once Zuma and I make it to school, we're immediately tackled by our group of friends.

"Hey, how was your summer!" Skye asks excitedly. I swear, that girl never runs out of energy.

"It was great! I went to California with Zuma and his parents and spent all summer down there."

"Awww, how cute!" Everyone says at the same time.

Zuma and I turn red. "Shut up." We say in sinc.

After catching up with the group, I head to my classes.

I have PE and History with Marshall and Rubble, Ag with Everest, Skye, and Tracker, and math with Chase, Rocky, and Sweetie, a foreign exchange student who also happens to be our best friend from the UK.

My next three are luckily with Zuma. English and a double Oceanography period.

I find him and we walk to our class together.

That's when I notice my boyfriend looking a little down in the dumps.

"Zum? You okay?" I ask as we take our seats.

"Hopefully the teacher doesn't ask us to read aloud."

"It's the first day. I doubt there's going to be any activities like that."

He nods, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek as the teacher walks in.

"Hello everyone, welcome back! I hope you all had a great summer."

Various mutters are heard throughout the room.

"Great! My name is Ms. Rupert, and today, we're going play a game. When I call on you, I want you to say three words you think describe you as a person."

She goes down the list until she comes to Zuma.

"Zuma Atwater?"

"Hmm. I would say loyal, ambitious, and hardworking."

"Very nice Mr. Atwater."

The popular girls at the back of the room giggle, and I could hear them swooning over Zuma. I sigh and roll my eyes.

"Lastly, Nova Larkin. How about you?"

"Dreamer, believer, achiever."

"Very good Ms. Larkin."

"Oh honey, I think you got it wrong."

"What?" I turn to face the most popular girl in school. Becca Toulouse.

"The three words that you should of said are fat, ugly, and know-it-all."

My eyes sting with tears and a low doglike growl rumbles in Zuma's throat.

"See you later bitch, you aren't welcome here."

I run out of the room, blocking out the sound of the bell and Ms. Rupert explaining our agenda for tomorrow.

Ducking into the secluded corner that our group's lockers magically were chosen to be in, I slide to the floor.

"Hey," Zuma says, "bwought your backpack."

"Thanks." I whisper.

"Nova, don't listen to them. They're just jealous of how incwedible and amazing you are."

I sniffle. "Thanks for making me feel better."

He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into a hug. "I'm here for you. Always." I could feel his toned arms through the thick material of his sweatshirt.

Damn.

I nod. "Lunch?"

"Heck yeah."

My mood is still sour when we join our friends at the lunch table in the furthest corner away from prying eyes.

"What's wrong with Nova?" Rubble asks.

"Becca and her fwiends said some not nice stuff to her in English class."

I pick at my food, barely interested until Skye makes me eat. Thank goodness for her.

"What'd they call you?" Rocky asks.

"Fat, ugly, know-it-all, and worst of all, bitch."

"Okay, that's it, she's going down!" Everest prepares to fight, but we pull her back down.

"Not now, Ev," Marshall pleads. "wait until at least graduation."

"Fine." She grumbles.

"I hate them." Skye sighs.

"Me too, but what can we do?" Chase wonders.

"We stand up to them. Teach them that we're not scared of them anymowe."

"Stole the words right out of my mouth, love."

"That's why we've got good chemistwy." Zuma winks.

I make sure no teachers are looking before quickly planting a kiss on his lips. Everyone groans and turns away.

"Well, at least she's not sad anymore!"

"Rubble," Rocky sighs, "you're too innocent for your own good."

At that exact moment, Marshall somehow gets his foot stuck in the bars between the tables. Everest and Sweetie struggle to help him, leaving the rest of us in tears from laughing so hard.

"You guys always know how to make me feel better."

"That's what were here for, Nova." Chase replies with a smile, Tracker nodding in agreement.

I lace my fingers together with Zuma's under the table, resting my head on his shoulder and we carry on with our lunch period.

Chapter Three

I was extremely happy for a double Oceanography period, and I could tell my boyfriend was too.

For as long as I can remember, he's always been fascinated with anything water related. The beach was his absolute favorite though, and it was honestly adorable.

I was more interested in Astronomy and a bit of Astrology, hence the name Nova. My dad used to say that he had always wanted his daughter to be called that since his major in college was Astronomy until he deployed to Iraq.

Together, Zuma and I were pretty much a power couple.

No wonder the Turbot cousins adore us.

The downside is that the Turbots were, and if not more, just as much of accident prones as Marshall.

We've made it our daily mission since Freshmen year to go in early and make sure that they don't get into any accidents.

Today was one of those days.

"Cap'n? Francois? Hello?" I call.

"Hello?" Zuma repeats.

"In here!" A voice responds.

We carefully walk towards the back part of the classroom, and then we see it.

Cap'n Turbot was clinging on to one of the air ducts, But was starting to slip. If we didn't act fast, he would fall into his coral reef habitat.

The real question was, how on earth did he get up there?

"Um, Cap'n, how did you get up there?" I ask.

"You see, I was trying to clean some of that colorful coral and I couldn't quite reach some parts, so I thought it would be an interesting and inventive idea to climb up here and try to clean it."

I shake my head as my boyfriend looks around.

"Nov, toss me that duck floaty!"

"Aye aye!"

I jog over, spotting the obnoxiously pink duck floaty, tossing it to Zuma, who then tosses it into the deeper part of the tank. Right below the Cap'n.

"Let go, the floaty will catch you!"

He's so hot when he's in lifeguard mode.

"Nova, I can hear you. You're not exactly the most quiet thinker." He whispers in my ear.

"Crap." I sigh.

Water splashes out of the tank and I run to clean up the mess before anyone can slip on it.

"Thank you, Zuma and Nova, for picking me out of that possibly prickly predicament."

We glance at each other and smile. "No problem Cap'n."

"Can I offer you a reward? How about some savory squid jerky?"

He rips open a package and as soon as I take a whiff, I gag.

"Dude," Zuma plugs his nose, "that stuff is smelly."

The captain shrugs and we make our way to our seats. We always make sure to get the best ones. Up close and personal.

And what I mean by best ones is the two desks near the sea turtle tank used for rehabilitation.

It's also the place where I met my boyfriend. But that's a story for another time.

If I allowed him, Zuma would have a bazillion of them for pets.

"Zum, you can unplug your nose."

"Is the smell gone?"

"Yup."

"Phew." He unplugs his nose, sneezing in the process.

"Bless you." I murmur, softly smiling at one of the babies nuzzling against the side of the tank.

The smile soon turns to a frown. "Poor thing, it's blind in one eye."

"Oui," a thick French accent exclaims, "Horacio and I found ze baby in ze bay with a fishhook in her eye."

"Will she be okay Francois?" Zuma asks worriedly.

"We will have to see. She might not ever be released into the wild." The cap'n interjects.

Soon, the cousins are arguing over who was going to say what sentence first, while we just stare at the little turtle.

"People can be so caweless."

"It's so sad. I just wish there was something we could do."

Zuma snaps. "That's it!"

"What?"

"Clean the beach day! We can ask Principal Goodway!"

"That's a great idea babe! I'm sure Rocky will be all over it!"

We high-five, ending it with our secret handshake that often ends with one of us trying to purposely cause the other mess up, then sneaking in a kiss or two for good measure.

Our conversation is cut short when other students start arriving. The class is small though and it upsets me that nobody really seems to care.

I see Zuma's eyebrows furrow as he glances at the doorway and places a hand on my shoulder, gently turning me to face him.

"Whatever you do, don't look at the door Nova."

"Why?"

"Angelica."

"Great. Just great."

Angelica Davenport is Becca's right hand minion. She carries out her plans and is always on Vice Principal Humdinger's good side. If he even has one.

Sweetie and I have a theory that Becca and her minions were once some of his kittens that transformed into bitchy excuses of humans.

Like I said, it's just a theory.

"I never knew Becca let her minions out of her sight."

I fake gasp. "Have they finally developed minds of their own?"

Zuma snickers right as the last few people file in, earning some odd looks from nearby classmates.

The Turbots stop arguing, for now, and the class begins.

"Bonjour, and welcome to ze first day of double Oceanography period."

Everyone groans, excluding some students, but the cousins ignore it.

"Since it's a splendid summery school day, I'm going to start out by going over rules in the classroom." Cap'n Turbot continues.

I zone out a bit, my mind wandering.

"This'll be a great school year. Right Zum?"

"The best."

Chapter Four

As soon as I stepped foot into my house, I knew it would end badly.

I was happy I had the right mind to have Zuma wait out front with our friends on conference call. And I was happy that I left my schoolbag in his car.

Running upstairs, I grab my emergency overnight bag along with a couple other things like my phone charger and headphones and a couple of my favorite movies.

As I shove them into my bag, I trip on the last step, accidentally leaving a scuff mark on the wall.

My poor excuse for a mother somehow heard and comes stumbling in reeking of whiskey and heroin.

"Look what you did, you worthless girl. See?"

She grabs a fistful of hair, yanking my head down.

"Look!" She shouts.

"Sorry." I whimper.

"Sorry doesn't cut it!"

Somehow, she had a broken piece of glass in her hand making me panic.

"No, please, I said sorry!" Tears streamed down my cheeks.

I feel the glass leave a fresh cut across my cheek and my heart pounds.

"Please stop." I whisper, almost unintelligible

"How could I have ever loved something so weak?"

"Mom..."

"Out of this house, you worthless piece of garbage! And don't come back!"

I stumble outside, holding my hand to my cheek trying to stop the bleeding.

"Zuma..." I collapse into the passenger seat, tears streaming down again.

"What did she do to you?" He panics, fumbling for a tissue to put over my cheek.

"She called me worthless, cut me with a shard of glass, told me that she doesn't even know why she loved me in the first place, called me a worthless piece of garbage, and finally, told me to get out and to not come back."

"That lady is so asking fow it." He rolls up his sleeves and prepares to storm into my house.

"Please don't, I couldn't bear it if she hurt you too, Zum. Or worse."

He settles back into his seat. "I'm a cwappy boyfwiend."

"Why?"

"I didn't go in and pwotect you. I wasn't there when you needed me."

"You are the best boyfriend in the world. Any girl would die to have someone like you."

He smiles at me, but when I try to smile back, I wince from the pain, clutching my cheek.

"No talking. I might have to take you to the doctor."

I shake my head fast, panic spreading.

"Fine, calm down. I'll call and see if everyone can meet us. I'll tell Marshall to bring his first aid kit."

I nod this time, happy that Marshall would be patching me up.

Even though he was training to be a firefighter, Marsh also worked part time in his mother's clinic as an EMT, working online to earn his certificate.

Although he was as clumsy as a newborn calf or foal, he knew what he was doing.

"Paw Patrol, we have a Code M. Meet me at the Lookout. Marsh, bring the first aid kit."

We had special codes, but everyone in our friend group knew what they meant. Code M meant that my mother had hurt me in some way and that I needed special attention ASAP.

Zuma talks fast into his phone before speeding off, heading to the area of Adventure Bay that nobody really went. It was a large grassy field surrounded by trees, water, and the bridge leading to downtown. We cherished it and used it as an escape.

Eventually, Ryder, one of the tutors heard about our friend group and what we did for the community and started the Paw Patrol. Marshall, Rubble, Chase, Rocky, Zuma, and Skye made up the main team, each having a specialized job with vehicles and gear that went along with their hobbies. Tracker and Everest were a secondary team, but were just as important. Sweetie was a frequent visitor, and I was kind of secretary almost, staying behind and watching the scanners.

The mayor soon had a high-tech tower built for us and after we were officially recognized by every major agency, the government and some other people, we were sworn in as Adventure Bay's and the surrounding areas' emergency/rescue team.

Between that and school, plus side jobs, we were busy.

I wouldn't change it for the world.

"Roger that, Zuma." Tracker's voice emits from the phone.

"Want me to alert Ryder?" Chase asks.

"Yeah, that'd be gweat."

"Copy."

"Paw Patrol! To the Lookout!" Ryder says as soon as he's patched in.

"Ryder needs us!" All of us chorus at the same time, minus Sweetie, who wasn't a member and wasn't allowed to come unless invited, and me since my boyfriend refused to let me talk until I was fixed up.

Zuma's screen lights up orange with a silver anchor in the foreground. His official tag. The others' tags follow, and soon, all eight of them appeared on the screen. Skye's copter blades, Chase's police badge, a fire symbol for Marshall, Rocky's recycling symbol, a wrench for Rubble, Tracker's compass, and finally, a silvery tree for Everest.

Once we get to the Lookout, Marshall trips on Rubble's skateboard, sending them rushing into the elevator. Chase holds the rest of us back until they crash.

"That was all skate and no board." Marshall sighs.

Everyone laughs but I roll my eyes and the elevator goes up stopping at a locker room. We change fast then finally we get to mission control.

I sit in the chair off to the side as everyone lines up in order.

"Paw Patrol ready for action, Ryder sir!"

"Thanks for hurrying everyone. We have a small emergency." Ryder turns to me and the rest of the gang gasps then looks at Zuma.

"Whoa, you really weren't kidding Zuma." Everest whimpers.

All he does is nod then turn back to Ryder.

"On my way here though, I got a call from Cap'n Turbot. Principal Goodway went out in a rowboat and lost Chickaletta somewhere in the water. Even worse, the boat has sprung a leak and is sinking slowly."

Various murmurs are heard around the room.

"For this mission I'll need Skye. Your helicopter and goggles will be a huge help in finding the rowboat and Chickaletta."

"Let's take to the sky!" The energetic girl does an effortless backflip, earning a small smile from Chase.

"And Zuma. You can use the buoy on your hovercraft to pull the boat to shore."

"Let's dive in!"

"Marshall, I may need you in a bit, but for now, take care of Nova. Same with the rest of the team. Stand by in case."

Everyone nods. "Alright! Paw Patrol is on a roll!"

Ryder races down the fire pole, with Skye and Zuma following him on the slide.

"Keep me updated, Marsh!" Zuma calls behind him.

"Aye aye."

With that, they're gone.

"Nova, pull it up on the screen!" Rubble says excitedly.

"Okay, okay." I laugh, wincing.

After pulling up the live body cam footage, Marshall makes me sit still while he cleans my cut.

"Luckily it's not deep, so no stitches. It may sting a bit though."

"Thanks Marshall."

"No problem Nova."

I settle back into my chair, intently watching the cams. I had just sent Marshall down to the docks to check on our Principal and her pet chicken, Tracker was sent to help his brother recover an artifact that one of the monkeys stole, Everest was helping Jake save Danny from his sledding incident, Chase and Rubble were watching TV downstairs, which left me and Rocky.

"Hey, want some company?"

"Sure. Zuma won't be back for a while since he went to help Cap'n Turbot on the Flounder."

Rocky sits next to me, scanning the screens. "Busy day." He sighs.

"Yup."

Rocky, Zuma, and I had known each other since Pre-K, which meant that we were ultimately the closest on the team. Zuma trusted Rocky with his life, so whenever my boyfriend was out on a mission or wasn't around, Rocky would look after me. He's even stood up to my mother a few times. He was also the reason Zuma sucked it up and asked me to be his girlfriend back in seventh grade.

"So, what'd you get Zuma for your anniversary?"

"It's kind of lame, but his parents helped me buy him this really cool vintage sextant." I pull it out of the gift bag I had my boyfriend's mother leave in his car.

"He'll love it Nova! It's not lame at all."

I smile. "What'd he get me?"

Rocky does the zipper motion on his lips. "I promised I wouldn't tell, so my lips are sealed."

"It was worth a shot." I shrug.

Zuma doesn't get back until an hour later, so Rocky and I have plenty of time to talk.

"Hey, I'm back." My boyfriend calls.

"I was wondering what that salty smell was." I stand up, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him.

"I thought it just smelled like wet dog." Rocky teases.

Zuma breaks the kiss to stick his tongue out at his best friend. Rocky returns the gesture but we're already kissing again.

"If you need me, I'll be downstairs." Rocky quickly excuses himself and hurries out of the room.

We break the kiss and Zuma takes his helmet off, leaving his sweaty hair to stick up all over the place.

"Looks like the helmet won the battle this time."

"The helmet always wins."

I laugh. "Excited about tonight?"

"This is the best night of the year! Of course I'm excited."

We change out of our uniforms and Zuma showers real fast, then we set out on our date.


	3. Chapters Five through Eight

Chapter Five

"Wow," I say as we drive to the beach, our favorite spot in the whole world. "the sunset is amazing tonight."

"Yeah, I had to call in a few favors, but I'm sure it was worth it." Zuma jokes.

"Either way, it's gorgeous."

"Just like you." He mumbles.

I blush and crack a smile. "Smooth, babe."

We pull up to our spot and I practically leap out of the car, tripping over the sidewalk in the process.

"Gweat job, Captain Klutz."

"Would you love me more if I wasn't a klutz?"

"I love you more because of that."

"Aw, how sweet."

"Being sweet is one of my skills."

"Oh whatever." I shove his shoulder playfully.

We find a place to set up our temporary camp and I set down my present carefully.

I feel Zuma pull me close to him by my waist, running his hands up and down my back. "Happy anniversary Nov."

"Happy anniversary, Zum."

He kisses me quickly but softly. "Can you believe it's alweady been five yeaws?"

"And still going strong."

"I've had the biggest cwush on you since Pwe-K though."

"Rocky used to have to drag you out of the classroom for like, ever because you would always be too nervous to talk to me."

"Not anymowe."

"Yeah. Thanks for growing a pair."

"Hey!" He pushes me down into the sand, hovering over me.

"It's true!" I counter.

"Mhm. Suwe."

I giggle, pressing my lips to his. "I love you."

"I love you too." Zuma whispers back.

He lowers his body on top of mine, deepening the kiss for a few minutes until I pull away breathlessly. "Is it just me or does this get better every time?" I say, out of breath.

"No, it definitely gets better." My boyfriend helps me up and I curl myself into his side, sighing.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"Nothing. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"The future. What's gonna happen after high school?"

"We'll still be together. That's all I know."

"Yeah."

"Anything else?"

"Who am I? All I know is the little girl scarred by years of abuse by the woman she called her mother."

"I know."

"Then who am I?"

Zuma sits in front of me, inching closer and closer. "You are Nova Rosalie Larkin. My amazing girlfriend, the prettiest girl I know, the smartest in school, the bravest, and the best science partner a boy could want."

"Did you ever notice that when you get serious your speech sounds normal?"

"I'm being serious, love."

I smile. "You really think all that?"

"I weally do."

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"All the time."

We kiss again before settling into the sand, watching the sun go down and the stars come out, the only noise around us being the gentle waves lapping the shore.

"So, I heard you got me something top secret." I break the silence.

"You first."

I grab the gift bag, setting it in front of him. "Sorry if it's a bit lame."

Zuma's eyes widen when he pulls the sextant out, carefully turning the instrument in his hands. "How is this lame? Babe, this is amazing!"

"Really?"

"Yes! Thank you Nov, I love it." He leaves a kiss on my nose.

"Yay!" I giggle

"Okay okay. Now you can open."

If you thought Zuma was surprised, then you should've seen my face when I opened the small box.

"Zum? What is this?"

"Look, I know that we're still young and all, but it feels so wight. We've know each other pwetty much our whole lives, and so I thought that maybe this would be fitting."

"Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Are you serious?"

"Very. Please please please, Nova. Marry me?"

I sniffle. "Yes yes yes yes. A thousand times yes!"

I have never seen a bigger smile appear on Zuma's face than this one. Teary eyed and a sniffling mess, I hug him tightly, never wanting to let go.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." I whisper.

"Fow what?"

"Everything."

I hear him chuckle. "You're welcome."

I don't let go of him, only burying my face into his chest. "I'm finally going to be free from her."

He sighs into my hair. "I'll keep you safe no matter what it takes, Nov. I pwomise."

"I know you will Zum. I trust you."

Zuma nuzzles his nose into my hair. "My house tonight?"

"Will there be Disney movies and popcorn?"

"Whatever you want."

"Then it's a deal."

"Sweet."

I peek at the ring, admiring the aquamarine stone set it in the silver metal.

"You just had to get me my birthstone, didn't you?"

"I thought it was fitting. And besides, my birthday is in March too."

"Doubly special."

"Mhm." He smirks.

"Zuma Douglas Atwater! Don't you dare pull the "I'm two weeks older than you" card on me."

He sticks his tongue out at me. "Man," I sigh dramatically. "I'm marrying a child."

"I'm not a child!"

"Says the one with the pouty lip." I smile victoriously.

All I get is a heavy sigh as Zuma runs his thumb gently over the cut on my cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Chapter Six

"Man, I love Disney movies." I burrow into a pile of blankets, taking over half of the couch.

"What'd you pick?" Zuma flops next to me holding sodas and some popcorn.

"Only my favorite movie of all time! Brave, obviously."

He responds with a chuckle and I rest my head in his lap, humming as his fingers weave through my hair.

Pressing play on the remote, I smile widely as the movie starts.

"Hello?" I call. "Is someone there?"

Everything is eerily quiet. Like, scarily quiet.

"Zuma? Guys? Anyone?"

"Novaaaaa." A creepy voice echos through the dark space.

"Who's there?"

"It's allllllllll your fault." It echos again.

"What did I do? Hello?"

"It's alllllllllll your fault." This sentence repeats over and over, taunting me, getting louder and louder as I try to run away from it.

"I didn't do anything, I swear!"

Then I trip over something, and a light shines out of nowhere, illuminating the dead bodies of everyone I love.

"No! This wasn't me!" I cry.

"It's allllll your fault." Hands appears out of nowhere, closing around my throat.

"Please, this wasn't me!" I gasp, trying to get air to my lungs.

Then it all goes black as my neck is snapped and I'm dragged down into a fiery pit.

"It's allllllll your fault." Follows after me.

"No!" I scream, bolting up and frantically looking around.

"Nova, are you okay? What's wrong?" Zuma's panicky voice jolts me from a daze.

"When did I fall asleep?"

"After the cwedits, but that's not what matters. What happened?"

I shake my head. "I need air."

I stand up, stumbling toward the front door, shakily unlocking it and walking outside, settling into the porch swing.

"Babe, tell me what's wrong." Zuma sits next to me, pulling me into his arms.

"All dead. You were dead and so was everyone else. And don't get me started on the creepy voice, and my neck getting snapped, and the pit of fire."

"That was all one nightmawe?"

I nod, breathing in a fresh gulp of air, the feeling of hands closing around my throat still tingling.

"I'm so sowwy, Nov." He holds me tighter, rocking the swing.

It's quiet for a few minutes.

"I don't know if I can sleep again, but we have school in a few hours."

"Let's go back inside and see if we can get back to sleep. If you can't, then I'll stay up with you and we'll just have to suffer through the day."

I nod. "Thank you, love."

He hums, kissing my head and picking me up bridal style.

Gently placing me into his soft bed, he pulls the covers over me and crawls in next to me. "Get some sleep, Nova. I'll be wight hewe."

"You always know how to calm me down, don't you Zum?"

"It's my special power." He grins.

I giggle, yawning as he pulls me close to him. I feel myself drifting off and I sigh contently. "Thank you for being here for me."

"Always, Nov. Always."

Chapter Seven

Nobody's POV*

"If you're all wondering why I called you here so early in this absolutely wonderful Adventure Bay weather, I have a proposition."

A clique of eight "friends" gathered in the tiny office, elbows and legs shuffling around.

"Have you ever heard of beauty sleep? Cause you interrupted mine." The main minion's shrill voice complained.

"Shut up all of you." The leader sighed. "Let's hear it. I would like to not fall asleep during my school takeover."

The man twirled his blond mustache. "I want you to form a group. One much like that stupid Paw Patrol. Only you will be my Kitty Catastrophe Crew causing havoc all around."

"And what's in it for us?" The leader of the clique leans forward, shoving her heavily makeup covered face into the man's.

"Seeing the Paw Patrol's downfall."

The girl smirks, the group following her lead. "You have a deal."

"You have done a great favor for your town. They rely too heavily on a group of teens. It's time for a new regime."

"What do you want us to do Mr. Humdinger?"

"I'm glad you asked Ms. Toulouse. Your first mission is to follow the group, minus the exchange student and copy down their every move."

"Yes sir, but they each have a job. What about us?"

"I've assigned you a job."

"Can we know?"

The man smiled evilly and twirled his mustache again. "Becca Toulouse, you will follow Chase Baxter. You are both natural born leaders, so it won't be hard."

"The police boy? How daft! But I'll take it."

"Angelica Davenport, I have assigned you Skye Himmel."

"But I can't fly!"

"That's why you're following her, dummy." One of the boys sighed.

"Jackson Price, you have Rocky Rooney."

"But I do the opposite of recycling. Cool!"

"Talia Mazzini, you have Everest Whittaker."

"I'll put the cool in cold."

"Bud Thompson, Rubble Thatcher."

"Wrecking is my pleasure."

"Karlise Shille, Marshall Fierman."

"Let's get hot."

"Marco Hernandez, Tracker Garcia."

"Great." The boy groaned.

"These last two are always together, so learning their tricks might be a bit harder."

The last two kids nod quickly.

"Holland Wintergreen, you have Zuma Atwater."

"Down to the sea is where I'll be."

"And finally, Mason Marlowe has been assigned Nova Larkin."

"Pretending to be smart will be harder than I thought."

"And one more thing. I want you all to copy habits, mannerisms, how they talk, everything."

"You want us to take their identities?"

"Oh please Becca, I don't stoop that low."

"Then we'll do it."

"Great. Your uniforms that mirror the Paw Patrol's are hanging in your lockers. Good luck KCC."

And with that, cackling can be heard around the room.

"Finally I can get back at Ms. Goodway." The vice Principal twisted his mustache one last time before realizing that his pet kittens were causing issues around the office.

"No kitties! That's important!"

Chapter Eight

I wake up to an empty bed next to me and my first instinct is to turn around and look at the clock.

"Only six..." I sigh to myself. "Better start getting ready, I guess."

I fumble around in the dark room searching for a light when something hits me. Zuma's not in bed.

I quietly check the upstairs, trying not to disturb his sleeping family. When I have no luck, my search continues downstairs and outside. That's when I notice him.

"Why didn't I check the pool in the first place?" I chuckle.

The scent of salt water filters through my nose as the brunet hops out of the water, stretching on the cool pavement.

"Gotta start the day off wight."

"Yeah, but I'd rather not have you smell like wet dog."

"Are you suggesting something?"

"Go shower!" I giggle, trying to act annoyed.

"Okay, okay. Fine." Zuma laughs, planting a kiss on my forehead. "By the way darling, as much as I love seeing you in my clothes, I'm sure the last thing you'd want to do is not wear pants to school."

I blush furiously and his laughs disappears but echoes through the house.

"Wow. Not even a good morning." I grumble.

"Good morning, by the way!" He yells.

"Morning!" I yell back.

I sit outside for a bit longer before deciding to start getting ready for school. I pull my favorite pair of pants and my favorite sweater from my bag along with my lucky socks and my Nike sneakers. My makeup and hair brush follow not long after. I run to the guest bathroom and start getting ready.

Once I'm ready and I see that Zuma's still getting ready and that it's only 7:00, I decide to make eggs and toast for us.

"Thought I smelled food." He chuckles, walking downstairs.

"You sound like Rubble."

"Not even close."

I set the food onto plates, making sure to leave some for his parents and siblings. Soon, the four family members tramp down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Oh, you slept over last night?" Zuma's younger sister Hollace says, amused.

"It was nothing bad, Holl." He pushes his sister's shoulder playfully.

"Did you ask? Tell me you asked!" Hollace's twin brother Kace jumps up and down excitedly.

"Children," Becky Atwater sighs, "leave your brother and Nova alone."

I hold my hand out for his family to see and Zuma's dad walks by, clapping him on the back. "Great pick son." Jack Atwater smiles.

"Thanks dad." Zuma blushes.

I check my watch. "Babe, we gotta go. Fifteen minutes till school starts and I'm sure our friends will want to see."

"Be home later! I'll call if I have a mission." Zuma calls behind him.

"Have a great day." Jack responds.

"Stay safe you two." I could tell Becky had seen my cheek, but decided not to question it. Thank goodness for the Atwaters. They were the only family who really understood what I was going through.

"Yeah, If you want to do it, go in a closet!" Hollace teases.

"Holl!" Jack scolds.

"And don't forget to use protection!" Kace adds.

"That's enough, Kace." Becky sighs again.

We close the door behind us. "I love your family." I smile.

"I do too, but it gets cwazy."

"I'm sure I'll manage."

"You fit in just fine alweady."

I giggle, planting a kiss on his lips. "Let's go conquer the day."

"And off we go."


	4. Chapter Nine through Eleven

Chapter Eight

I wake up to an empty bed next to me and my first instinct is to turn around and look at the clock.

"Only six..." I sigh to myself. "Better start getting ready, I guess."

I fumble around in the dark room searching for a light when something hits me. Zuma's not in bed.

I quietly check the upstairs, trying not to disturb his sleeping family. When I have no luck, my search continues downstairs and outside. That's when I notice him.

"Why didn't I check the pool in the first place?" I chuckle.

The scent of salt water filters through my nose as the brunet hops out of the water, stretching on the cool pavement.

"Gotta start the day off wight."

"Yeah, but I'd rather not have you smell like wet dog."

"Are you suggesting something?"

"Go shower!" I giggle, trying to act annoyed.

"Okay, okay. Fine." Zuma laughs, planting a kiss on my forehead. "By the way darling, as much as I love seeing you in my clothes, I'm sure the last thing you'd want to do is not wear pants to school."

I blush furiously and his laughs disappears but echoes through the house.

"Wow. Not even a good morning." I grumble.

"Good morning, by the way!" He yells.

"Morning!" I yell back.

I sit outside for a bit longer before deciding to start getting ready for school. I pull my favorite pair of pants and my favorite sweater from my bag along with my lucky socks and my Nike sneakers. My makeup and hair brush follow not long after. I run to the guest bathroom and start getting ready.

Once I'm ready and I see that Zuma's still getting ready and that it's only 7:00, I decide to make eggs and toast for us.

"Thought I smelled food." He chuckles, walking downstairs.

"You sound like Rubble."

"Not even close."

I set the food onto plates, making sure to leave some for his parents and siblings. Soon, the four family members tramp down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Oh, you slept over last night?" Zuma's younger sister Hollace says, amused.

"It was nothing bad, Holl." He pushes his sister's shoulder playfully.

"Did you ask? Tell me you asked!" Hollace's twin brother Kace jumps up and down excitedly.

"Children," Becky Atwater sighs, "leave your brother and Nova alone."

I hold my hand out for his family to see and Zuma's dad walks by, clapping him on the back. "Great pick son." Jack Atwater smiles.

"Thanks dad." Zuma blushes.

I check my watch. "Babe, we gotta go. Fifteen minutes till school starts and I'm sure our friends will want to see."

"Be home later! I'll call if I have a mission." Zuma calls behind him.

"Have a great day." Jack responds.

"Stay safe you two." I could tell Becky had seen my cheek, but decided not to question it. Thank goodness for the Atwaters. They were the only family who really understood what I was going through.

"Yeah, If you want to do it, go in a closet!" Hollace teases.

"Holl!" Jack scolds.

"And don't forget to use protection!" Kace adds.

"That's enough, Kace." Becky sighs again.

We close the door behind us. "I love your family." I smile.

"I do too, but it gets cwazy."

"I'm sure I'll manage."

"You fit in just fine alweady."

I giggle, planting a kiss on his lips. "Let's go conquer the day."

"And off we go."

Chapter Nine

"Let me see it!" Sweetie squeals, her posh accent overpowering the others' voices.

Skye gasps. "Zuma! You got her birthstone!"

Zuma giggles, flustered beyond relief. "Wocky helped pick it out."

Everyone looks at Rocky. "What?" He shrugs. "I guess I just have a good eye when it comes to that sort of thing."

Our friends continue to bombard us with questions until Marshall pulls me aside.

"How's your cheek?" He asks.

"It still hurts a bit, but not as a bad as yesterday."

"That's good. I'll take a look at it during lunch."

I smile. "Thanks Marsh."

"No problem." He starts to walk forward, but his foot catches in a wider crack in the sidewalk and he trips, landing face first onto the concrete.

"I'm good." He groans, voice muffled by the ground.

"Note to self Zuma, remind me later to Marshall-proof the wedding."

"Noted." He taps his temple.

Everest walks over to her boyfriend, helping him up and brushing off his clothes. "Next time, look where you're going." She teases.

"Why don't you just catch me next time?" He smirks.

"Nice try, mister. You've played that one before."

They start arguing about something, probably about Marshall's clumsiness or his bad puns.

"C'mon, we should get to math." Rocky pulls at my arm and taps Chase and Sweetie on the shoulder.

"See you later!" We all call.

"Wow, I knew Zuma picked something really pretty out, but this is better than I imagined." Chase smiles.

"He picked well, didn't he?" I blush. Chase and Sweetie nod in agreement.

Rocky wraps his arm around my waist and kisses my temple. Something he's done since we were kids. "Don't I get a thanks?"

"Thanks Rocky. Zuma would've completely clueless without you."

"Oh, trust me, he still was. I have video proof. Remind me to show you them later."

We share an evil look and Chase glances at Sweetie. "I hate when they have that look. It means something's about to happen."

"Nothing bad, I promise. Rocky was going to show me some videos from when Zuma was ring shopping."

"Can we watch too?" Sweetie asks.

"Obviously."

"Yes!" She fist pumps.

The bell rings for first period and we walk into the math classroom.

"I hate math," I grumble. "let's get this over with."

"Lunch can't come any sooner." Sweetie sighs.

Chase and Rocky raise an eyebrow. "It can't be that bad."

"It's not bad, but I just don't like it."

The teacher comes in, clearly in a bad mood and our conversation is cut short.

"Oh, this'll be soooo much fun." Sweetie says sarcastically. This time, we get nods of agreement from the boys.

Chapter Ten: Part One

Nobody's POV*

"Ryder here."

"Ryder, come quickly, this is a disaster!"

"What's wrong Ms. Goodway?"

"Cap'n Turbot and Francois were diving and they saw a mysterious artifact from an extremely old shipwreck! There's a bunch of odd symbols and Francois is very sure that there's some sort of treasure inside it. The only problem is, it's too heavy and when they tried to pick it up with the diving bell, it capsized it!"

"Don't worry, Ms. Goodway! No artifact is too heavy, nobody's too small! Sea Patrol, to the Beach Tower!"

"Ryder needs us!"

Back to Nova's POV*

"Ryder needs us."

We race to the Beach Tower, all wondering what mission was in store for us today.

Marshall runs into the rope that Rubble and Skye were playing tug-of-war with, somehow getting tangled in it. Unable to walk, he hops as fast as he can, trying to make it to the where we were. In the process, he manages to tangle all of us up with him and we sit on the ground glaring at him.

"Sorry, didn't mean to rope you guys in." We all sigh as we untangle ourselves and race into the Tower.

Once we get to mission control, the team lines up and I take my spot in my spinning chair. It was just then that I notice that Everest and Tracker weren't there. They probably had stuff at home to do.

"Sea Patrol ready for action, Captain Ryder sir." Chase says.

"Thanks for coming so quickly everyone. This is a strange one. Ms. Goodway called and said that the Turbots were in the diving bell and ran into a very old artifact with strange symbols on it..."

I scan the photo and I gasp when I recognize the symbols. Rocky glances over at me with a raised eyebrow but I'm still staring at the picture.

"...When they tried to pull it up, since Francois seems to think it holds treasure, the heaviness of the object capsized the diving bell."

"We've gotta help them!" Rubble exclaims.

"That's exactly what were gonna do. For this mission I'll need Zuma. We'll need your sub to help locate the diving bell."

"Ready, set, get wet!"

"Rocky, we'll need you to man the crane on the Sea Patroller to help lift up the artifact."

"Green means go!"

"And we'll also need an expert who's familiar with these symbols. This mission calls for our newest member. Nova." An electric blue tag with a silver telescope appears on the screen.

"Wait, what?"

"You're an expert on Astronomy and Astrology. If these symbols are what you think, then you're the only one that can decipher them."

"This supernova knows no bounds!" I say excitedly.

Before we leave, I suit up, getting the right badges and everything, and take the oath, adrenaline buzzing through my veins.

"Nova, one more thing, your new buggy has a telescope on it, but once inside, press the green button to turn it into a fully operational submarine."

I nod, taking my place next to Marshall.

"Alright! Sea Patrol is on a roll!"

A platform lowers us into the bridge of the Sea Patroller and we take our seats.

"Load em' up Robo dog!"

We watch as mine and Zuma's crafts are loaded into the cargo hold and I can help but gape in amazement.

"Robo dog, take us to sea."

Sooner than I know, we're in open water and I look out the windows at the vast blue expanse.

"Wow." I murmur under my breath.

We stop at the Turbots' coordinates and drop anchor.

"Nova, Zuma, go go go!"

We drop into our vehicles and I press the start button, my bright blue car roaring to life. We exit out of the boat and I press the green button, surprised as the car turns in a submarine.

"Stay close." Zuma says and I nod.

We make it to the diving bell and as Zuma helps the cousins, I take a closer look at the artifact.

"Ryder, this isn't an artifact at all! It's a cave entrance! The real treasure must be inside!"

"Nice work, Nova."

I squint my eyes at the intricate carvings on the cave door and I gasp once more. "Ryder, I was right. These are the Zodiac signs. But they're all out of order."

Chapter Ten: Part Two:

"What do you mean out of order?"

"It looks like someone moved the rocks out of place to keep someone or something out."

"They look heavy." Zuma adds. "How would they be able to move them alone?"

"There's another thing, Ryder, they look like they've been moved recently. Don't know how recent, but definitely sometime close."

I see Ryder stroke his chin and narrow his eyes at the cave. "I'm coming down. I think we should open it up."

"Copy that, Ryder dude." Zuma looks at me and nods, signaling for me to get my diving stuff on.

"Submarine, autopilot." I get my diving stuff on, and wait outside the stone cave door for Ryder and Zuma to join me.

"Okay Nova, tell us the order and we'll move the stones."

"Okay." I take a deep breath, studying the etched designs in each stone.

"Aries is first, the ram." The stone is set in place and a whirring sound could be heard.

"Next up is Taurus, the bull." The whirring noise is heard once again.

"Gemini, the twins. Also looks like the Roman numeral two." More whirring.

"Cancer. The two circles that look like they have tails." Yet again, even more whirring.

"Leo. The one circle with a curved tail." This time, clicking can be heard.

"Virgo, the fancy 'm' with a loop on the end." More clicking ensures.

"Libra. Looks like a horseshoe." Even more clicking.

"Scorpio, the fancy 'm' with a tiny arrow at the end." Still more clicking.

"Sagittarius. Looks like an arrow with a line through it." Clicking and whirring could be heard now.

"Capricorn, looks like a fancy 'n' with a loop." Same noises.

"Aquarius, double pointed squiggly lines."

"And Pisces. Two half semi-circles with a straight line going through both."

The sound stops and I watch in confusion. Then the door swings open, leading to a dark cavern.

"I did it!" I breath.

"I knew you could." Zuma smiles at me.

I smile back and venture in, but I'm pulled back out. "We need to stay together, Nova." Ryder says.

I nod, squinting my eyes into the darkness. "There's got to be a way to light this up."

"That's it!" I watch as Ryder taps on Chase's badge and Chase's face appears in the screen.

"What do you need Ryder?"

"Chase, we need your spotlight. The cave is too dark to see anything but Zuma's and Nova's submarines are too wide to fit in the entrance."

"Chase is on the case!" He appears next to us a couple minutes later. "Spotlight!" It pops out of his pack and lights up the once dark cavern.

"It looks like it's only big enough for three people at most." I point out.

"You three go ahead. I'll have the others prepare if you need help." Ryder swims off, the Turbots following behind him.

"Okay. Let's do this." Chase mumbles.

I swim in first, following the beam of light as its rays reflect off the water. And then, I'm not underwater all of a sudden.

"Guys, we can breath in here without our scuba gear." I take off my helmet, keeping the ear piece in, and shake my hair out.

Zuma and Chase follow me in and they too take their helmets off.

"Where are we?" Chase asks.

"We're underwater, but at the same time, we're not. This doesn't make any sense."

"Hey, guys, look. Another secret passage." Zuma motions for us to look.

I press the button and another room is revealed. I walk in and am met by the beautiful sight of treasure upon treasure upon treasure.

"Ryder dude, we'll need all hands on deck. There's a lot down here."

"We're on the way, Zuma."

Everyone but Rocky, who was still manning the crane, and even Tracker and Everest helped to gather the treasure and bring it back to the Sea Patroller.

Once we get to shore, Carlos meets us on the beach with his truck and we load our findings to bring to the museum.

"Well well well, what do we have here? Is that treasure I see? And lots of it?" A familiar voice sounds.

"Sorry Vice Principal Humdinger, But this is going to the museum." Marshall says.

"Yeah! I can't believe Nova knew what order those stones had to be in!" Rubble says happily.

"Aw, it was nothing. Just a bit of teamwork, that's all." I laugh, and Zuma wraps an arm around me.

"We're just excited to see this all this in the museum." Carlos says with a smile. "Thank you Paw Patrol."

"And thank you for helping us out in ze water." Francois adds.

"No problem! Whenever you're in trouble, just yell for help."

In my peripheral, I see the vice Principal twirl his mustache and walk away grinning evilly.

I nudge Skye, Rocky, and my boyfriend. "He's up to something. We need to keep an eye on him."

They agree with me and soon, everyone parts and go our separate ways for the night.

"What do you think he's up to?" I ask Rocky as we head to his house to hang out.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good." Rocky sighs, Zuma nods in agreement.

"What can we do?" Skye asks, she decided to tag along after remembering that her parents were out of town and that Chase had late night trainings the police station.

"We just need to keep an even closer eye on him. We don't need another meteor incident." Zuma refers to our short time as superheroes.

"Or an observatory incident." Rocky rolls his eyes.

"Or literally any other problem he's caused in Adventure Bay." I add.

We all laugh, continuing on our way to Rocky's house.

Little did we know, we were being watched. And not in a good way.

Chapter Eleven

"Mom! I'm home!" Rocky and I yell.

"Hi Jeanine!" Zuma and Skye chorus.

"Hello everyone, how was your day?" The silver-haired lady chirps.

"Nova had her first mission." Skye says happily.

Jeanine's smile grows bigger. "Tell me all about it!"

As everyone explains the mission, I get lost in my own head. Jeanine was like a second mother to me, besides Becky. Both women had told the court that they would look after me when they found out about my dad and how my birth mom's life started going down the drain, but Jeanine was in the long process of officially adopting me and Rocky was ecstatic that I would be his "little sister." I was intended to have actually gone into her care back in sixth grade after "Mom" showed that she wasn't remotely interested in caring for a child. Why on earth she was fighting back was news to me, but I hoped it would be ending soon. I needed to get out of that house for good.

"Nova, are you okay?" Rocky shakes my arm, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"Okay." He raises an eyebrow in suspicion, but follows me in joining the conversation.

"So, dear, what was it like?" Jeanine's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Scary at first, but it felt amazing after that."

"And I heard the test of the team helped as well, but where were you, Rocky?" She raises an eyebrow in amusement, knowing exactly what his answer would be.

"Manning the crane up where it was nice and dry. No getting wet for me." We all laugh as he shivers at the thought of water.

"Speaking of water, Rocky," Zuma smirks at his best friend and I know exactly what he's doing. "Don't you think it's time for you to shower or something? You kinda stink."

"I do not!" Rocky defends.

I sniff the air around him. "No, Zuma's right. You're starting to stink."

Skye picks up on our game and pretends to faint from the smell and Jeanine has to leave the room because she was trying hard not to laugh.

"Oh my god, I really do smell!" Rocky runs up the stairs and bolts into his room, then runs into the bathroom carrying his bathroom necessities.

Once he's out of earshot, we bust out laughing.

"I can't believe he fell for that!" Skye, still on the floor, wipes away a tear.

"It's worked on him since preschool and it keeps getting better." I smile, glancing up the stairs as a series of crashes could be heard from the bathroom.

Jeanine leaves for her shift at the dump, and we chill out on the couch until I glance at my watch.

"No no no! She's gonna kill me!" Skye looks at me worriedly, but Rocky holds her back as she tries to get up. I rush to put my shoes on and grab my other things before rushing outside and down the driveway.

"Nov, wait!" Zuma rushes out after me. "Babe, what's wrong?"

"She told me that if I wasn't home at 10:00, then she and whoever she was bring home from wherever she was would come into my room and do bad things to me."

"Nova, I can't—"

"I'm sorry Zum, I have to. I'm sorry." I peck his lips then rush off down the street to my house.

"I love you." I hear him say softly. "Stay safe please." I remember him saying that he was spending the night at Rocky's and I watch as he walks off toward his house, possibly to grab an overnight bag, which was a couple streets away from Rocky's as was mine. The beautiful home pops into my mind and I tear up just thinking about it.

A few minutes later, I release a teary breath and step into my house, wasting no time in bolting up to my room.

"Bring it on." I mumble to myself as I glance at the clock. 9:45. I was early, but she'd still probably find a way around it.

I could hear footsteps downstairs and some moaning and I hold back a gag.

"Y'know? I have a new way to torture my awful daughter." My mother says loudly as they climb the stairs.

"Lead the way." The man with her slurs and cackles.

My bedroom door opens and the next thing I know, the world goes dark.


End file.
